If the HTC Desire's exceptional phone quality was any indication of what to expect with the HTC Droid Incredible, we weren't disappointed with what we experienced. Just like it, the Droid Incredible utterly beat our expectations by offering a sensible calling experience which is accompanied with clear and distinct voices on both ends – no apparent static noise could be heard in the background. Speaker volume was more than ample to make out conversations without the need for repetitions, but switching over to the speaker phone proved to be a bit more difficult. Despite having some serious loud tones, the speaker phone made voices sound somewhat muffled – but lowering it a bit made it tolerable.

HTC claims that the HTC Droid Incredible provides up to 5.21 hours of continuous talk time and remains operational for up to 6 days of stand-by on 3G networks. On our first round of testing with an extreme focus on sending text messages and web surfing, we were able to get past the 12 hour mark before a notification came up to connect it to a power source. When we tested it out for a second time, this time we were moderately using the handset, we were able to get an almost full day before requiring a recharge. Naturally this would be more than enough to clearly justify its normal operation for most users.

*Update (April 26, 2010):After conducting a few battery tests we were able to get up to 5 hours and 30 minutes of continuous talk time on a full charge, or up to 20 hours with mixed usage.

Conclusion:

There were many incredible aspects that we were able to experience with the device that ultimately shows HTC's continuation in being a leader in the Android world. With two similar handsets already out on the market, the Nexus One and Desire, the Droid Incredible manages to follow suit more with the latter of the two. Unfortunately, the minimalistic design approach is the one glaringly eye sore that hinders the Droid Incredible to be elevated to a level beyond its brothers, and with the HTC EVO 4G on the horizon, it'll have a small window of opportunity to make its impact. Verizon customers are once again being treated to the best Android phone to hit the US market – easily supplanting itself as the premier offering on their lineup; even when the Nexus One finally arrives on the scene. In the end, Verizon and HTC will clearly make out well on both ends as they both become the driving forces for Android's ubiquitous appeal.

45 Comments

Display mode:

I really like the design on the front of the phone, but I'm definitely not a fan of the back...I know they need a variety and this one was trying to stand out...but iono. I'm not feeling it. But hey, it might be targeting other people. Other than that, it's pretty awesome. I'm sure it will do well, but I don't think it will replace the Droid yet.

If you throw out the subjective rating of Design which has zero impact on the functionality, this is a pretty lofty rating for a phone. I really don't see how the EVO will raise the bar THAT much. You trade screen size for brilliance with the EVO. Beyond that, the EVO really only differentiates on niche features: mini-HDMI and mobile hotspot. Speaking of niche, the 4G ability of the EVO will appeal to only a small pct of the country being that WiMax is not widely available, not at all in some major markets like NYC. For those that are lucky to be in those select markets, 4G will be great. But if you don't have that luxury, well the EVO is just a 3G phone and with that, the coverage map tells the story: huge advantage Incredible and Verizon. I suppose we will continue to see the likes of Verizon's competitors trying to overcompensate for poor coverage and a lack of motivation to make improvements by releasing more advanced handsets. Unfortunately, consumers will have to pick the more important trade-off. Status quo.

the evo will also be able to record in 720p and it also has a front facing camera....so that might bring up the rating a little bit along with the bigger screen. but then again the evo is going to weigh a whopping 6.00 oz, so we will see if that affects the rating as well.

This phone is a 4.3" screen away from making me give up my droid. the htc sense and camera upgrade is nice, but not enough to give up on my motorola- especially since my slide out keyboard does get a lot of use

That a kid, always working. I Pre-Ordered mine last night! the only thing I think I may dislike about the phone is the lack of metal, I love how heavy my Droid is, its like a brick shit house. I guarantee if Moto releases a Droid 2 it will mbe 2nd to none.As far as me being a raging technophile, my need for this phone goes with out saying. I shall use both!

The phone sounds great, but the review hurts my ears -- " the HTC Droid Incredible just doesn't breathe in anything remarkable in its build". Huh? How do you breathe in remarkable?! Someone really breathed in some mangled language in this one. :-)

A 6.5 for design? WTF? I've seen this site rate some questionable phones higher in that category. I know it's not the best design in creation but a 6.5 I think I might have to start looking elsewhere for reviews

I'm also confused on how the display only got rated a 9, when currently its using the best display on a commercially available and affordable phone right now. But the IPhone 3GS display got rated a 9.5, with lower resolution, Non AMOLED screen, and it is smaller, but scored half a point higher?
The desire scored 2.25 pts higher in design? Maybe I'm partial to black, but their should be no way that the desire scored 25%+ higher in design. Something is seriously seriously wrong here. I will take the Jet black beautiful front Incredible with a funky back any day before the all around boring/dirty looking desire. Just my .02 cents though.

Maybe this was due to the fact that the iPhone review is older? I can't seem them being able to go back and retroactively change the reviews based off of the current standard. Like if the EnV got a 9 for a review, and then the EnV2 got a 9, but it's a whole lot better, and it can't be the same as the EnV2, it would be hard to go back and edit their previous reviews.
Maybe the 3GS's screen was the screen to beat back then, but now there are better.

Regarding the display - I couldn't find any mention of the iPhone's display in direct sunlight in the phonearena review (for the 3gs at least), but I think this bit from the htc review is probably why the score isn't higher - "Aside from the lack of visibility when viewing the phone outdoors in direct sunlight..."

@sinfulta
they gave the N1 display a 10???why? when the display on the incredible is said to be better but yet they score it 1 point lower and N1 got a 8.5 in design??? I know to each is own but the reviewer sure seems bias to this phone for some reason, maybe he has a Moto Droid or a N1?

Regarding the Cons:
The front looks fine. The back does look a bit silly a la Nissan Xterra, but at least a good portion of it is flat, the way it should be since table surfaces are also flat.
The uninspiring design and the cheap exterior materials can be easily remedied by a quality hard shell case like the one I have on my Blackberry Curve.
As for the lack of headphones, oh well. I think I'm used to that now that Airlines never seem to provide them either.

I have an Xterra. My Inc will arrive tomorrow. I already have a Seidio hard case and belt clip combo ready for it, which trims down one of the layers in the back. Now I know what attracted me to this phone, thank you. That and the sheer speed of it, combined with hating an external keyboard and the accuracy of the virtual keyboard. I have headphones (Sennheiser, of course).

working at vzw, i have been able to play with this phone alot the last 2 days and i personally feel it is the greatest phone to ever grace vzw's lineup. it is everything i could have possibly hoped it could be. i will definitely be purchasing this phone. it definitely lives up to the hype. we will be selling millions of these things!

this is good to hear, as I love my Droid but it has too many bugs so I'm going to see if they'll swap it out for the incredible. one question, though: is the 3.5mm headphone jack as loose as it is on the Droid? because i'm tired of carrying around my phone and my iPod..

LOL...after watching Google and HTC ignore Nexus One users for their 3g issues...and this phone is based on the same hardware...you'd be CrAzEy to buy it! Hit the Nexus One Forums..their problems have been ignored like MAD!

"after watching Google and HTC ignore Nexus One users for their 3g issues"
While I find that annoying, being that this phone uses entirely different technology (cdma rather than gsm) it may not have any of those issues - it's most certainly not using the same hardware internally, that would be impossible.

Every time there's a new phone, there's always a couple of comments about how they wish it had a bigger screen. And while I hope someone makes an android phone with a bigger screen for those people, I don't want one.
I want one with a smaller screen. I was hoping they'd release a phone the same size as the htc droid eris, or even slightly smaller (but with better battery life). I just don't need more screen real estate unless it gets up to iPad size (might be a bit difficult to carry in my pocket then, lol). I'd just like something that was a great phone (call quality reception) and I could do some basic web browsing on.
I don't think I'm alone either. I have 4 friends who all already have droid phones. 3 of the 4 all said the same thing - after reading the reviews they went to the store to buy a Motorola Droid, but after handling the Droid and the Eris found they really didn't like the big, heavy, blocky feel of the Droid and purchased an Eris. Only 1 of my 4 friends actually bought a Motorola Droid.
I'm disappointed they made the phone bigger, would have liked to see a more Eris-sized phone. I'm glad they didn't add a keyboard (if you want a keyboard, you can get the Motorola droid, though admittedly it would be great if they put a better keyboard on it). And I think phonearena's comments about build quality seem pretty silly - I'd much rather have a lighter phone (especially on something this big, which isn't light to begin with) than a heavier phone with more metal in it.
I guess I'll see what it's like when I get it!

I should add that although I didn't like the "build" on the Motorola Droid (to blocky, heavy, industrial), the Nexus One did look pretty good, and that's what phonearena said it wasn't as good as. Hmm. Still not a huge issue (far, far more concerned with call quality), but I suppose it's nice to have a pretty design. :-)

Alright, I've had this phone for a day now -
1. The visual design of the phone is fine. I personally far prefer it to the Droid's "industrial", I'm-carrying-a-brick-with-me design. And I find **NO** fault with the feel of the build quality of the phone. There's nothing loose, creaky, etc about it, it's very solid feeling. My guess is that the reviewer simply like heavy, "industrial" feeling phones - I prefer a lighter phone over something with more heft (functionality before "feel"). That's a personal preference only, if you prefer something "sleeker" and "more professional", and just plain lighter in your pocket like I do, you'll prefer the Incredible, if you really like something heavy you'd prefer the Droid. I don't like to carry around a heavy phone.
The visual design is good, though not "OMG awesome". More interesting looking than an iPhone, but perhaps not as cool looking as the Nexus One looks in pics (haven't seen it in person, so I can't make a real comparison). Again, I find the Moto Droid's "industrial" design kind of obnoxious, so this one is by far preferable (with my sense of aesthetics, of course yours might be different).
The back on the phone isn't *NEARLY* as loud as it looks in pics. The somewhat grippy rubber material makes the phone easier to hold onto than a slick surface would. It also doesn't "stand out" like it does in pictures. Could it be described as boring? Possibly, kind of a matter of opinion. But could it be described as "Loud"? No. Not if you see it in person.
Anyways, hope this helps anyone trying to make a decision regarding how the phone looks.

I think they lower points on the design to bring the final "average" below 9.
I like the design, call me insane but I prefer the back than the front lol.
Anyway, it is snappy, it's fast, and works great, it's a pity HTC didn't make a GSM version of this Incredible phone.

44.impressed (unregistered)

This is a great review.
I am a Palm Lifedrive owner looking for an upgrade -don't care that much for a phone function as to be able to replace Lifedrive's "DriveMode" = external (4GB) drive- with ability to load and read (edit might be asking too much?) Word and Excel files. Or, not as a external drive, but with the ability to read those files saved on microSD/internal memory. Is Incredible able to do so?
If not, is there such PDA/smarphone on the market? I would like to be able to browse and email data/pictures - is such item available for a full price but not a plan (or the least expensive plan since I am not into "phoning" that much)? And it should work globally.
Waiting for a reply.

45.musicluvr.nm (unregistered)

I have to agree that the products used on the exterior are a cheap, and the side lacking buttons shows a minimalisitc approach. But I think the back stands out and is cool. It looks like a topographical map, which is different than what we see in other phones.

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